Sheridan's project will receive funding of $287,000 over three years. The university said in the release that it "focuses on nuisance floods that result from short-term rises in sea level along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts."

Lee's own project, funded for about $270,000 over two years, "will study historic changes in extreme weather events that cause either severe heat or cold – two major factors that affect human comfort and health," according to the release.

Jointly, they "will study local and regional meteorological trends like barometric pressure and wind patterns to determine how they affect sea level," the university says.

Both Sheridan and Lee said the goal of their work is to help meteorologists better understand weather patterns to enable more accurate forecasting.